How to protect yourself from electromagnetic fields

The electromagnetic fields are all around us, and while we can't avoid them all, we should avoid them whenever we can. It has been suggested that it is more important to do so for young people, pregnant women, but also other who intend to have kids in the future.

What is an electromagnetic field?

"An electromagnetic field is a physical field produced by electrically charged objects. It affects the behavior of charged objects in the vicinity of the field. The electromagnetic field extends indefinitely throughout space and describes the electromagnetic interaction." (Wikipedia)

Are electromagnetic fields actually bad for you?

The truth is that the results aren't in yet, meaning there haven't been long enough studies about it yet. In most cases, there's aren't any direct evidence for either of the possibilities - to show that low frequency EMF exposure is good, or bad for you. Although the harmful effects of lots of exposure are claimed to cause anything from infertility to cancer.

What the the electromagnetic fields do is cause a current to flow through the body to the ground and can induce circulating currents in human body.

The fact is that the electromagnetic fields do cause some problems, even if they haven't been studied enough yet, and too much exposure of anything is usually bad for you. So you should take steps to limit your exposure to electromagnetic fields.

How to limit your exposure to electromagnetic fields?

There's quite a lot you can do actually, from AC power plugs and sockets to mobile phone usage and the type of TV you use. And more. Now let's dig deeper.

Wifi - avoid if possible
If possible, instead of keeping your wifi router on, it's better idea to turn off its WLAN function and connect your laptop with the cable instead. Of course, we all know it's easier said than done. And even if you do switch off your wifi, your neighbour's wifi router might still be on. So it's not all that easy at all, but from the positive side, usually the cable connection gives you slightly better speeds.

Laptop - and how to use it
Laptops have become more popular than desktop computers these days, so we should know how to limit our exposure to the electromagnetic fields while using them. Something you might have heard of already before, but don't hold your laptop on your lap. Keep a distance with it. Your laptop should be on a table. And if possible, while working at home for example, it would be a good idea to use an external keyboard as well - might do good both for your posture, your eye sight, and limit your exposure to electromagnetic fields.

Phones - which are better
Obviously, none of are actually using landlines too much anymore, even if we do still have it. But for longer phone calls, more than 3 minutes, they are actually recommended.

Cables in general
Besides your home phone, it's also better to use a mouse and a keyboard with a cable instead of having wireless versions of them, since wireless things work through radio signals that takes place between the devices. And the radio signal creates an electromagnetic field. Then again...when it comes to your mobile phone...

Your mobile phone, and your hands free, and the distance
In case of your mobile a usual handsfree might not be good enough, since the cable might function as an antenna, actually increasing the electromagnetic fields. So in case of your phone, your bluetooth-handsfree is the best to use. Although your bluetooth-handsfree emits electromagnetic signals as well, they are around 20 times lower than in your phone.

You also shouldn't carry your phone in your pocket but rather in your bag or somewhere else, to keep it as far away from your body as possible. During the night it would be good to have the phone at a distance of 4 meters if possible, min 1 meter.

Your lamps - what should you keep in mind?
There are multiple things to consider here. Firstly, it's always better to use lamps with an on/off switch compared to the ones with fade-in/fade-out effect or even lamps with a touchpad instead of a proper switch as those all cause extra EMFs. Another thing to think of are the light bulbs that you use. While energy saving economy bulbs are a good idea when it comes to your electricity bills and taking better care of the planet, they might not be as good when it comes to your health. So you shouldn't use them in rooms where you stay a lot.

Although LED bulbs can cause as much electrosmog as the economy bulbs, some of them don't create almost any EMF at all. Of course, when you go shopping, it's pretty hard to tell which is which, you can only check it my measuring it yourself, or asking the salesman who actually knows his stuff.

Your baby's bed
The younger your kid is, the more he or she is influenced by outside factors. Strong electromagnetic field can cause problems in her development. So if possible, if there are power plugs in the wall, don't put her bed right against the wall. Also the other side of the wall shouldn't have too many devices that create electromagnetic fields.

Your TV
Remember the old big TVs? Well, as you might have guessed, their level of EMF emission is pretty high. So if possible, use LED based TV instead as this creates remarkably lower amount of electromagnetic fields. Then again, you might want to avoid plasma displays as these create even high level of EMFs than your old 80s tv.

Microwave oven
While it has been sort of proven that mirowaving your food does not lose nutrients, at least too much, and especially not compared to other ways of cooking, microwave ovens still do create high frequency electromagnetic fields. So when you use it, it's good to stay meters away from it.

All in one, while low frequency electromagnetic fields might not do us too much harm, nobody actually knows enough about it yet to say anything for sure. And that's about low amount of it. High amounts of anything can already start causing problems - so why not at least just consider a few of those things.

The electromagnetic fields are all around us, and while we can't avoid them all, we should avoid them whenever we can. It has been suggested that it is more important to do so for young people, pregnant women, but also other who intend to have kids in the future.

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